Amtrak and the Schuylkill River Passenger Rail Authority agreed Wednesday to work together to revive passenger train service between Philadelphia and Reading after an absence of 45 years.
Federal Railroad Administration officials designated the route as one of 60 intercity rail corridors to be developed in part with start-up funds from the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law.
Intermediate stops are planned for Pottstown and Phoenixville.
The agreement is a step forward, committing Amtrak to complete formal ridership forecasts and revenue estimates and to determine likely costs to operate and maintain the route.
“We’ll rocket through Step 2,” said Thomas Frawley, executive director of the Schuylkill River Passenger Rail Authority, because of Amtrak’s commitment to the project. “We’re excited and optimistic.”
Amtrak will handle the next stage of work, estimated at $4.8 million. Federal officials have approved the budget, but the money needs to be obligated before the bipartisan infrastructure bill expires Sept. 30, Frawley said.
Congress is discussing reauthorization of a new surface transportation law, and future funding of the rail corridor program is uncertain despite bipartisan support.
After the business plan in Step 2, the Philadelphia-Reading line would require preliminary engineering, final design and engineering, and some construction.
Ever since rail service along the route ended in 1981, people have been trying to figure out a way to bring back the trains.
Other proposals fell by the wayside, including the state’s 1990s Schuylkill Valley Metro plan to build an electric-powered commuter service on the route. It was estimated at $2 billion. In 2003, Gov. Ed Rendell canceled the effort amid funding concerns.
By contrast, the SRPRA plan is projected to cost about $100 million.
Backers say the SRPRA plan has advantages that could pay off. For one, the partnership with Amtrak and the national passenger railroad’s interest in running the line.
“We look forward to the opportunity to reconnect communities like Reading to the Northeast Corridor and beyond, to support their economic and community development,” Nicole Bucich, Amtrak’s vice president of planning and state partnerships, said in a statement.
Another: Norfolk Southern owns and hauls freight on existing rails with diesel locomotives — no need for a massive project to build tracks or a system of overhead wires to power passenger trains.
“They’re running trains today on the railroad, and it’s in very good condition,” Frawley said. “We’re not talking about a greenfield project.”
The Northeast Corridor itself is an advantage, too, Frawley said, giving more people access to Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station to Boston, New York, Washington, and points between.
“It can have a powerful synergistic effect” on the regional economy, he said.
WASHINGTON — Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, thumbing his nose at national Republicans on the morning after they subpoenaed him, rallied protesters on Capitol Hill on Thursday as one of his counterparts in Virginia, who had also been compelled by a subpoena from the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, prepared to testify behind closed doors.
Taunting both Rep. Jim Jordan (R., Ohio), the committee chair, and President Donald Trump outside the building where the committee meets, Krasner railed against Republicans generally and the ongoing legal maneuvers he said are intended to ensure progressive prosecutors like him “roll over and play dead.”
“Jim Jordan, can you hear me?” he asked as he stood before a crowd of mostly Virginians outside the Rayburn House Office Building. “Why don’t you come out here? We miss you. We haven’t seen you, and apparently, you don’t like us when we’re with you in public.”
The monthslong war of words escalated on Wednesday, when Jordan ordered Krasner’s office to produce documents about its handling of immigration issues. The Republican-led committee requested the documents in May as it accused the district attorney — as well as Philadelphia Police Commissioner Kevin Bethel and Sheriff Rochelle Bilal — of protecting criminal immigrants through sanctuary policies.
Republicans have similarly targeted multiple jurisdictions, including Arlington County and the city of Falls Church, in Virginia’s Washington suburbs.
The committee subpoenaed the area’s top prosecutor, Parisa Dehghani-Tafti, in March for documents related to protests outside the home of deputy White House chief of staff Stephen Miller. After a back-and-forth in which Dehghani-Tafti requested a public hearing, the committee wrote in a July 1 letter that it was compelling her to appear to answer questions about “politicized interference in a doxxing investigation and your preferential treatment of illegal immigrants accused of criminal conduct in your district.”
“I’m here because I respect the law, and I’m here because I upheld the rule of law,” Dehghani-Tafti said Thursday as she walked by the gathering of about 75 people, some of whom wore shirts and held signs reading “No Secret Hearings.”
Krasner said the committee was afraid to conduct the questioning in a public setting because Dehghani-Tafti, whom he described as a top-notch prosecutor and communicator, would “wreck them.”
“And they are not just trying to do it to her,” Krasner said. “They’re trying to do it to a whole bunch of us — pretty much anybody who they see as standing in their way.”
Krasner did not otherwise address his own subpoena while speaking in Washington.
Asked for comment, a spokesperson for the committee said Thursday: “We look forward to Mr. Krasner’s compliance with the subpoena.”
In an interview after his speech, Krasner said it was important for him and other local prosecutors, some of whom were in attendance Thursday, to join together to show that “none of us are backing down.” He said that he has the same legal representation as Dehghani-Tafti to deal with the situation, and that if he was compelled to testify he would answer the committee’s answers truthfully.
“I’d be shocked if these cowards wanted a public hearing,” Krasner said. “Not because I’m so important, but because the questions are so stupid, and the truth harms them so much.”
In a private setting, he said, the committee can control any transcripts or videos and decide when and how to make them public. He compared the situation to “Putin’s Russia,” mocked Jordan for not completing law school, and repeatedly called Trump the “criminal-in-chief.”
Krasner also alleged that part of the reason he and others are being targeted is because of their ability to prosecute state-level crimes, for which Trump does not have the power to pardon. That includes potential crimes related to Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender and former Trump associate who died in 2019.
“Make no mistake, Epstein class, we are coming for you,” Krasner said in shouting distance from federal lawmakers. “We’re coming for you now, or we’re coming for you later.”
Epstein’s private islands were in the U.S. Virgin Islands and his mainland home was in Florida, outside Krasner’s jurisdiction in Philadelphia.
Late Thursday afternoon in Philadelphia, Krasner said he was in the process of complying with the subpoena.
“It encompasses an infinite number of documents, many of which they’re not entitled to have, but there’s little doubt they’re entitled to have some of them, and what the law requires is what we’re going to do,” he said. “It is very likely that sooner or later we’re going to turn over some documents.”
He derided Jordan as “the criminal-in-chief’s little helper” and accused the House committee of being on a “silly mission” to try to show fault with how honest prosecutors are handling immigration issues in their jurisdictions.
“If they want to mess with Philly, they’re going to come through me,” Krasner said. “My job is to protect Philadelphians. I’m going to do that. We’re not going to have ICE agents or federal agents murdering people on the streets of Philadelphia with no consequence.”
This month ICE agents fatally shot two men in six days during traffic stops in Texas and Maine.
The House committee gave Krasner a July 29 deadline to provide the documents it requested. In a letter Wednesday, Jordan said Krasner’s “refusal to cooperate” included “bizarre and baseless demands and conditions.”
“The Committee has no obligation to entertain your unreasonable demand because as federal courts have explained, it is exclusively the prerogative of the Committee to determine how and in what manner it conducts its oversight,” Jordan wrote.
Staff writer Jeff Gammage contributed to this article.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has declared a statewide code red air quality day due to Canadian wildfire smoke blowing into the Philadelphia region.
The poor air quality prompted the start time for the Phillies-Mets game to be moved an hour earlier. A Phillies game was postponed in June 2023 due to air quality issues caused by wildfire smoke.
A heat advisory is also in effect in Philadelphia, where the heat index could reach 100 degrees. There’s also the potential for an isolated thunderstorm this evening between 4 p.m. and 11 p.m.
// Timestamp 07/16/26 7:00pm
Suffocating dome of smoke descends over Philly region
John Burns Jr., of Grays Ferry Philadelphia, Pa., sitting out at Cherry Street Pier with the wildfire smoke from Canada in Philadelphia, Pa., on Thursday, July 16, 2026.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
The polluted campfire-like vaporfrom Canadian wildfires plummeted air quality Thursday, lowered visibility enough that flights were delayed at Philadelphia International Airport, and prompted cancellation of a concert at Cooper River Park in Camden County.The Phillies moved Thursday night’s game up one hour due to air quality concerns.
The smoke, which was expected to blanket the region at least through Friday, originated from fires burning in Western Ontario, said Sarah Johnson, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Mount Holly office.
It was swept in by winds that mixed to keep it closer to the ground.
“It’s just a factor of the winds at all levels kind of working together,” Johnson explained.
It is difficult to pinpoint when the air quality might return to normal, she said. Those forecasts come from state environmental protection departments and are usually no more than 48 hours out.
What to know about the wildfire smoke in Philly and its health impacts
Penn State graduate student Ray Boone waits for the bus with a face mask on because of the air quality, on Thursday, July 16, 2026 at 17th Street and JFK Boulevard in Philadelphia. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has declared a statewide Code Red air quality day due to Canadian wildfire smoke blowing into the Philadelphia region.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
As Canada grapples with hundreds of active wildfires, the rest of North America is feeling the impactsstruggles with air quality alerts.
In Philadelphia and elsewhere, the air quality score is considered unhealthy, particularly for the most sensitive people.
Whether you are planning on going out or staying home, here’s what three experts had to say about staying healthy and what precautions are needed:
Pennsylvania DEP issues statewide code purple alert for Friday
Air quality is expected to continue to deteriorate Friday, with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection issuing a code purple alert for the entire state as smoke from wildfires in Canada and Minnesota continue to blanket the area.
A code purple alert indicates “very unhealthy” air quality conditions, which could effect the general population. It is the second-highest step on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s color scale, with only maroon — which indicates a “hazardous” air quality — outranking it.
Department officials advised all residents to limit their time and exertion levels outside. Sensitive groups — including children, elderly people, and people with respiratory illnesses — are advised to avoid outdoor activities altogether.
Friday’s code purple alert is one step above Thursday’s code red.
The state DEP advised that residents and businesses should avoid using gas-powered lawn and garden equipment, and not burn leaves or trash to help keep fine particulate pollution levels down amid the alert.
The Phillies’ game against the New York Mets will begin an hour earlier than initially scheduled, due to air quality concerns.
Now, the game will start at 6:10 p.m., the Phillies announced Thursday afternoon. Gate opening times, however, will stay the same, with third base and left-field entrances opening at 5:10 p.m., and all other gates opening a half hour later.
Thursday’s game was initially scheduled to start at 7:10 p.m., and will kick off a three-game series against the Mets at Citizens Bank Park.
In 2023, the Phillies postponed a game against the Detroit Tigers over air quality issues from Canadian wildfires.
Air quality is ‘potentially pretty dangerous’ for sensitive groups
Thursday’s smoky air is not just overshadowing Philadelphia’s summer sky; it’s also clouding your lungs.
The city’s air quality score is in the red stage, according to the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. It is not as hazardous as the maroon level, but the air is still considered unhealthy — particularly for more sensitive populations.
“It’s potentially pretty dangerous air quality to individuals who are fragile,” said Dr. Michele Columbo, the allergy and immunology chief at Main Line Health. “They can have difficulty breathing, dry cough, wheezing, tightness in the chest, and even feel light-headed because of high heat.”
You might not consider yourself “fragile,” but Columbo said people 65 or older, folks with asthma or any kind of lung issues, individuals with cardiovascular disease, children, and pregnant women are the most affected by the current air conditions.
While most of the city is continuing daily life as normal, Columbo cautions people in the sensitive category against staying outside for more than a couple of minutes at a time, and even encourages rescheduling outdoor activities.
Children in particular are at risk because they breathe faster than adults. And pregnant people in the third trimester may already be experiencing difficulty breathing without the added contaminants to their lungs.
Folks falling in this category should stay inside, where setting the air-conditioning to recirculation can help, Columbo said. For people who can’t avoid going outside, wear an N-95 mask, he added.
Columbo also urged patients with chronic respiratory problems to make sure to carry and use their inhalers when outside.
A statewide code red air emergency and heat advisory is not stopping global EDM phenomenon Deadmau5 from headlining FIFA Fan Festival in Lemon Hill Thursday night.
As air quality reaches unhealthy levels, according to five monitoring stations across the city, and the heat index could read 100 degrees, Fan Fest officials said the festivities and Deadmau5 performance would go on as scheduled.
“We encourage the public to take proper precautions if attending Fan Fest today,” said Melissa Ferdinand of Philadelphia Soccer 2026, the host city committee that runs the festival.
The festival opens from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., with Deadmau5 taking the stage at 7 p.m. The Ghosts N Stuff producer posted to Instagram three hours ago that he was en route to Philly, and just so happened to bump into his contemporary and global DJ icon, Zedd, Thursday morning.
Wildfire smoke not dampening some tourists’ time in Philly: ‘It’s much worse out west’
Julie and Bill Guise, 66 and 72, respectively, basked in the somewhat cool breeze billowing from a giant fan inside the President’s House complex at around 1 p.m. hoping to get relief from the oppressive air. The Flagstaff, Ariz., residents, however, were unaware of what exactly was causing it.
“We couldn’t figure out what it was,” Bill Guise said of the haze in the atmosphere.
It wasn’t out of lack of familiarity with wildfire smoke. It was the opposite. Their region of the country is so often affected by this kind of smoke, and at much closer range, that this level of smokiness didn’t even register to them as wildfire-related.
The couple was in town visiting their son, a jazz bassist and University of the Arts graduate. While the smoky air is uncomfortable for them, as is the general humidity that the desert-dwellers are unaccustomed to, they said it’s unlikely to change their plans for the day.
“We have such limited time here and so many things to do,” Bill Guise said.
The couple was meeting with their son later at Valley Green Inn for dinner and planning on seeing a play tomorrow morning at Penn’s Landing. They don’t plan on letting the haze get in the way.
“It’s much worse out west,” Julie Guise added, likening the western smoke, when it’s extra bad, to sitting next to a campfire.
For father-daughter duo David and Brayden DeMaria, this level of smoke is somewhat of a reprieve from what they were experiencing in Syracuse, N.Y., before they traveled down to Philly.
“We left yesterday morning and it was, like, orange leaving the house,” Brayden DeMaria, 19, said standing outside Independence Hall around 1:30 p.m. “The color of the sky is completely different.”
The two came to town for Wednesday’s Tame Impala concert (though they were mostly there for the opener, Djo) and will return home later today. They planned on packing the day with finishing their trip to Independence Hall, thrifting, and then hitting up Franklin Fountain for ice cream.
Deteriorating air quality appears to be heading toward Philly
Air quality is deteriorating rapidly in Central and Western Pennsylvania this afternoon as smoke from Canadian wildfires pours across the U.S. border, data from government air sensors show.
Air sensors in Centre County recorded an air quality index of 345 at 1 p.m., or hazardous, the highest and most dangerous level tracked by the Environmental Protection Agency. Other sensors in Lycoming and Bradford Counties recorded AQIs above 200, or very unhealthy.
Under these conditions, according to the EPA, the entire population is at risk for adverse health effects with prolonged exposure.
The worst conditions appeared to be gradually drifting southeast across Pennsylvania Thursday afternoon. Forecasts show the thickest smoke reaching the Philadelphia region late Thursday into Friday morning.
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Flights delayed into Philadelphia due to low visibility
The Federal Aviation Administration issued a ground delay on flights headed into Philadelphia International Airport Thursday due to low visibility caused by wildfire smoke.
According to FlightAware, 148 flights have been delayed heading into PHL Thursday. Currently, the posted delay is 66 minutes and scheduled to remain in place until 11:59 pm.
There are currently no delays on planes departing PHL.
Travelers are encouraged to check with their airlines for the latest flight information, as the impact of Canadian wildfires is expected to linger across the Philadelphia region Friday.
Concert featuring Beach Boys co-founder canceled due to poor air quality
The poor air quality across the Philadelphia region is beginning to impact events scheduled to take place outdoors.
A concert featuring Al Jardine, co-founder of the Beach Boys, scheduled to take place at Cooper River Park in Pennsauken, N.J., at 8 p.m. on Thursday has been canceled, organizers announced.
The show has been rescheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 4.
There has yet to be any announcements regarding Thursday night’s Phillies game against the New York Mets at Citizens Bank Park, which is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
Temple doc says smoke-filled air has a ‘uniquely toxic profile’
Eric Balaban, a pulmonary and critical care fellow at Temple University, was hesitant but still went running Thursday morning, even as smoke from Canadian wildfires smothered the region.
“If I didn’t have an addiction to running, I would not have gone. And I would recommend other people not to run. Do as I say, not as I do,” he said with a laugh.
But exposure to the smoke is a serious matter, Balaban said. He said that smoke that travels “carries a uniquely toxic profile that poses severe health risks to both healthy individuals and vulnerable populations.”
Balaban said the smoke, which has traveled hundreds of miles, undergoes what’s known as “photochemical aging,” meaning it interacts with oxygen, heat, and sunlight to help generate high levels of ground-level ozone and highly irritating aerosols.
That’s in addition to the ground-level ozone also produced by weather conditions such as on Thursday.
Ground-level ozone is a pollutant that forms when nitrogen oxides and volatile organics emitted by vehicles, power plants, and industry react in sunlight, especially during hot days. It can cause airways to constrict, leading to shortness of breath, so it can especially affect those with asthma, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis.
Balaban also explained that the fine particulate matter (PM2.5) within the smoke is small enough to cross from the lungs directly into the bloodstream, bringing a body-wide exposure that can increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes, in addition to causing acute chest tightness, shortness of breath, and dizziness in otherwise healthy people.
Those risks are amplified for those with preexisting conditions like asthma or COPD, he said.
He suggests people replace home air-conditioning filters to improve indoor air quality and, if they have existing conditions, to make sure they have extra respiratory medications and inhalers on hand.
Balaban emphasized the world is undergoing an environmental crisis with climate change, and encouraged the public to address the “root cause” of it through civic action.
“We have opportunities to mitigate and prevent these environmental catastrophes from happening, but it is something that we need to agree to do together,” he said.
People try to beat the heat with a hand fan in limited shade in Center City.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
Ruth McDermott-Levy, a professor at Villanova University’s school of nursing, says that not only has air quality become a risk today for those already with health issues, but for everyone.
“All of us are at risk today,” McDermott-Levy said. “Certainly there are groups of people at greater risk, from pregnant women, children, older people, and those with cardiac and respiratory illnesses. But we’re at an unhealthy level for everyone.”
She has previously written an article about the impact of wildfire smoke on health. This newest round of wildfires from Canada, as well as the second heat dome to descend on the area in as many weeks, indicates climate change, she said.
Wildfire smoke is particularly damaging, she said. Wildfires carry not only smoke from burning trees, but from buildings it sweeps up, and pollutants already in the air. That can include pollution coming into Philadelphia from Boston and New York, McDermott-Levy said.
“Wildfire smoke is among the most toxic air pollution that we have,” she said.
She said that pollution not only can penetrate the human bloodstream, but also settles on crops and livestock.
She suggested that those with tickets to tonight’s Phillies game reconsider going, especially children whose lungs are still developing. A Phillies-Tigers game was postponed in 2023 because of Canadian wildfire smoke, but no announcements have been made regarding Thursday’s game.
Meanwhile, high heat and sunlight combine with gases in the air to produce more ground-level ozone.
“This is climate change and we are living it,” she said.
Philly health officials urge residents to limit outdoor activities
Hazy conditions in Center City Philadelphia Thursday, caused by wildfires in Canada.Denali Sagner / staff
With Philadelphia under a Code Red Air Quality Alert, city officials are urging residents to limit their time outdoors.
“Today is not the day to start your marathon training plan,” Palak Raval-Nelson, commissioner of the city’s Department of Public Health, said in a statement.
As of 11 a.m., Philadelphia’s Air Quality Index was 182, solidly in the middle of the “unhealthy” range, which means conditions are bad enough for members of the general public to experience health effects.
Especially at risk are residents with heart or lung conditions, who should take “extra special care” outdoors Thursday, Raval-Nelson said. Children, older adults, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems are also at higher risk.
People experiencing symptoms including trouble breathing, heart palpitations, nausea, or dizziness are encouraged to seek immediate medical attention.
Despite the warning, city services will operate normally. Employees working outdoors are being encouraged to take frequent breaks and should consider wearing a mask, the city said.
Most Philly Parks and Recreation activities will operate normally
City pools will be open Thursday and won’t have restrictions based on air quality.Jessica Griffin / Staff Photographer
The wildfire smoke will not disrupt most Philadelphia Parks and Recreation facilities or activities on Thursday, according to spokesperson Ra’Chelle Rodgers.
The city’s pools and parks will not have restrictions based on air quality, she said. Summer camps may cancel some trips, outdoor sports or other activities on a case-by-case basis, but will otherwise remain open and move indoors.
The department is following the city’s health guidance on air quality, and instructing leaders to monitor the situation and use their best judgment, Rodgers said.
Poor air quality threatens the Phillies-Mets game in South Philly
The Phillies were forced to play in smoky conditions in June 2023, ultimately forcing the team to postpone a game.Steven M. Falk / Staff Photographer
Wildfire smoke from Canada is creating air quality issues in Philadelphia, threatening to derail the Phillies’ return to the diamond.
The Phillies are scheduled to kick off a three-game series against the New York Mets Thursday at Citizens Bank Park beginning at 7 p.m., but the game could be postponed if conditions in the city don’t improve.
As of 9:30 a.m., Philadelphia’s Air Quality Index was 181, solidly in the middle of the “unhealthy” range, which means conditions are bad enough for members of the general public to experience health effects.
Air quality levels are expected to fluctuate during the day, but issues are forecast to linger through tonight and potentially into Friday, according to Paul Fitzsimmons, lead meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Mount Holly office.
“I think this evening there still will be air quality issues the Philly area and surrounding areas” Fitzsimmons said. “It’s tough to say exactly how bad they will be.”
The Phillies did not respond to a request for comment. The team isn’t scheduled to play Friday, so shifting the game back a day wouldn’t create much of a scheduling headache.
It wouldn’t be the first time the Phillies were impacted by smoke. In June 2023, the team postponed a game against the Detroit Tigers due to air quality issues stemming from Canadian wildfires.
The Phillies-Mets game is the only MLB matchup on the schedule Thursday, as the league restarts following the All-Star break. MLB games scheduled Friday in Toronto, Boston, and New York City, which are all experiencing air quality issues.
The Washington Spirit defeated Gotham FC in National Women’s Soccer League action Wednesday night at Citi Field in New York City, and players said the smoky air had an impact.
Air quality is expected to improved for Sunday’s men’s World Cup final between Spain and Argentina, which will be played at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.
Smoke in Philly could linger into Friday afternoon
Hazy skies at Independence Hall and across Center City Philadelphia Thursday.Michelle Myers / staff
The smoke we’re experiencing in Philadelphia is from fires burning in western Ontario and the impact could be felt through at least Friday afternoon, said Sarah Johnson, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Mount Holly office.
The smoke had been lingering high in the atmosphere since Tuesday, but changing wind patterns caused it to mix closer to the ground by late Wednesday afternoon, she said.
“It’s just a factor of the winds at all levels kind of working together,” Johnson explained.
Visibility in the immediate Philadelphia area has dropped to between three to five miles. Visibility of beyond six miles is typical for a sunny, smoke-free day.
Visibility worsens farther north, Johnson said. In the Poconos and Central New Jersey, for example, it has dropped to around one to two miles. Reading is at two miles.
Johnson said that conditions are similar to, but not quite as severe yet, to June 2023 when smoke from Canadian wildfires were so bad they caused the Phillies to postpone a game against the Detroit Tigers.
It’s difficult to pinpoint when the air quality might return to normal, she said. Those forecasts come from state environmental protection departments and are usually no more than 48 hours out.
But she expects the haze to persist through Thursday and Friday, and that air quality could potentially deteriorate further overnight.
“Getting the exact visibility is still pretty challenging when we’re talking about smoke, more than several hours out,” Johnson cautioned.
Air quality in Philly ‘unhealthy’ due to wildfire smoke
You might want to skip that morning run or wait a few days to mow the lawn.
Smoke from hundreds of Canadian wildfires has descended over the Philadelphia region, casting a haze, causing a campfire-like smell, and producing poor air quality.
The Air Quality Index by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is in the unhealthy range for Center City, Northeast Philadelphia, Chester, Norristown, and Camden. The index ranges from 0 to 500. Unhealthy is from 151 to 200. Center City was the highest in the area at 184, as of 7:30 a.m.
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The index measures a range of pollutants, including really fine particulate matter, known as PM2.5; carbon monoxide; sulfur dioxide; and nitrogen dioxide.
The National Weather Service has issued an air quality alert until midnight Thursday.
And the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has issued a Code Red Air Quality Action Day for fine particulates. An Air Quality Action Day means that air quality within the region may approach or exceed unhealthy standards.
Code red means that young children, elderly people, and those with respiratory problems, such as asthma, emphysema, and bronchitis, are especially vulnerable and should avoid outdoor activities. Everyone else should reduce prolonged or heavy exertion.
In addition, the NWS has issued a heat advisory until 8 p.m. Thursday with the heat index to hover near 100.
Code red air quality alert has been issued for the Philly area
The sun tries to peek through the clouds and wildfire smoke from Canada over houses in Ridley Park Thursday.Torin Sweeney / Staff
Smoke from Canadian wildfires began enveloping the region Thursday, creating a haze, a faint smell of charcoal, and a potential danger for people with respiratory issues.
The National Weather Service has issued a code red air quality day for Philadelphia and surrounding counties through midnight. That means air quality across the region is forecast to approach or exceed unhealthy standards.
By daybreak, air quality was tumbling to unhealthy levels in Philadelphia and a broad swath of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, according to an Inquirer analysis of dozens of public sensors.
Early Thursday morning, the amount of fine particulate matter in the air, measured by the Environmental Protection Agency in a metric called the Air Quality Index, or AQI, had risen sharply.
Air with an AQI above 150 is considered unhealthy to breathe with prolonged exposure for most individuals, according to the EPA. In air quality alerts issued by the National Weather Service, forecasters recommended avoiding prolonged outdoor exposure, and particularly avoiding common activities like exercise.
It was unclear when the smoke would dissipate across the region, but the National Weather Service said it could linger into Friday.
This map shows air quality in the Northeastern U.S.
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Canadian wildfire photos: How things look elsewhere
Julian McTaggart is playfully pushed into Vermont’s West River as smoke from Canadian wildfires creates an orange haze over the area.Kristopher RadderWildfire smoke blankets downtown Toronto Wednesday after wildfires swept across Ontario.IAN WILLMSThe CN Tower is pictured in Toronto as wildfire smoke fills the city.Laura Proctor
A bus program that shuttles families to Pennsylvania’s far-flung state prisons will soon resume a full schedule of trips after lawmakers approved $600,000 for the service in the state budget, restoring a level of operation the program had not seen since before the pandemic.
The funding followed months of behind-the-scenes lobbying by the Pennsylvania Prison Society, the nonprofit that runs the program. The organization said the money will allow buses to travel to every state prison every other month, a substantial expansion from the patchwork of limited pilot routes it has operated in recent years with short-term funding. The money will also allow the society to add departures from Pittsburgh for the first time, beginning next year.
For nearly two decades, the buses have carried thousands of relatives to prisons scattered across rural Pennsylvania, many of them hours away and virtually impossible to reach without a car. Advocates say restoring the service will preserve those family connections while expanding access to people in Western Pennsylvania.
“Keeping your family whole is really challenged by incarceration,” said Claire Shubik-Richards, the prison society’s executive director. “This program keeps families connected.”
Still, the funding covers only one year, meaning advocates will likely have to fight for it again next budget season. “This is a victory for today,” Shubik-Richards said, “but we always need to be working to ensure that it can go forward into the future.”
The program had operated continuously with funding from the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections. But during the pandemic, the prison system suspended in-person visits and stopped paying for the bus program. When visits resumed, the money for the buses did not.
For Yvonne Newkirk, 72, the service had become a lifeline. She began riding the buses about a dozen years ago to visit her daughter, Stacey, at the state prison in Muncy, three hours from her West Philadelphia home. Stacey Newkirk, 55, is serving a life sentence for third-degree murder, and her mother said she took the bus to visit her six times a year — every route offered to that prison.
When the service was suspended, Newkirk said, she relied on relatives to drive her. The trips required them to take time off work, and Newkirk paid for gas, tolls, and their lost wages — far more than the bus fare she had once paid.
Newkirk said she was overjoyed to learn the service had been funded for another year. She has not told her daughter yet. Instead, she said, she plans to share the news in person later this month on one of the program’s trips. “I know she’s just going to be really ecstatic,” she said.
Her daughter, she said, often tells her not to visit so frequently because of the long journey.
“But at my age, I told her, ‘I’m going to come as much as I can because there’s going to be one point in time where I will not be able to make it up there,’” Newkirk said.
Four trips from Philadelphia to prisons are scheduled for the fall. Shubik-Richards said service will expand gradually, with the first Pittsburgh routes expected in early 2027.
Families take a three-and-a-half-hour bus ride to visit their love ones at SCI Benner in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. Jose F. Moreno / Staff Photographer
Even with funding secured, the expansion poses logistical hurdles. The society must find a coach company willing to operate the Pittsburgh routes, a task its staffers say has become difficult as the number of bus operators has shrunk and costs have risen.
The bus trips also create challenges inside the prisons. On bus-visit days, visitation resources are largely devoted to the program’s families — dozens of visitors at once.
Kirstin Cornnell, the prison society’s family and community support director, said she is working with prison officials to schedule trips on days with lighter visitation and determine the most “responsible way to scale up.”
While the prison system has faced staffing shortages, its spokesperson, Maria Bivens, said Thursday that “existing resources” would be used to make the program work.
Pennsylvania prisons facilitated more than 1 million visits last year — most of them virtual, she said. “While research has shown that video visits provide the same recidivism-reducing benefits as in-person visitation,” she said, ”this program eliminates a barrier to in-person visitation for families who lack the resources, reliable transportation, or ability to travel long distances to correctional facilities.”
Lawmakers carved the $600,000 from a larger appropriation to the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency. Advocates called it a hard-fought win during a budget season marked by intense scrutiny of state spending.
Two of the program’s strongest supporters, State Reps. Jordan Harris (D., Philadelphia) and Emily Kinkead (D., Pittsburgh), said in interviews that they backed the funding because maintaining family ties improves public safety. Research has found that incarcerated people with strong family connections are less likely to commit violence in prison or return after release, they said.
Harris, the House Appropriations Committee chairman, said the consequences of incarceration extend beyond the person convicted.
“It also affects their family,” he said.
He added that the program helps preserve relationships and gives people returning home the support they need to successfully reenter their communities.
“While I make no apologies for a crime that may have been committed, that doesn’t mean that we dehumanize that person,” he said. “It doesn’t mean that person’s family doesn’t still feel the brunt of that pain. And it doesn’t mean that we still shouldn’t allow children to have relationships with their parents who may be behind bars.”
New Jersey and Pennsylvania are the latest states to tackle a growing and nationwide crisis: EBT skimming.
New Jersey isrolling out a roughly four-week pilot to distribute Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits through chip-enabled EBT cards this summer, the New Jersey Department of Human Services announced Monday.
Cumberland, Essex, and Mercer Counties, as well as anyone in the statewho has lost a card and is in need of a replacement, will be the first to get the new cards that do away with outdated magnetic stripe technology, which is vulnerable to scammers looking to steal people’s benefits.
“The new chip cards provide enhanced security to help prevent that kind of loss in the first place, keeping benefits in the hands of the people who need them,” Human Services Commissioner Stephen Cha said.
Next door, Pennsylvania has also moved forward with a chip card transition, setting aside $7 million in the latest budget for the change, which is due no later than Jan. 1, 2028. The federal government would cover the other $7 million needed for the transition as part of the current breakdown of how administrative costs are to be split.
The next steps are being worked out, and that will determine a distribution timeline, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services. Implementation of the chip cards is slated to take six to eight months.
The switch to chip cards is seen as long overdue among government watchdogs and advocates of those whose benefits have been stolen. By sticking an inconspicuous contraption onto a point-of-sale terminal, scammers can copy magnetic strip card information and spend benefits in different states. The onus of protecting the benefits has largely fallen on recipients, who are required to download apps onto their phones that allow them to lock their cards until the moment they are ready to pay for their groceries.
“This is a basic security measure that will prevent our clients from losing millions of SNAP dollars to international organized criminals, and we hope that Pennsylvania can implement this change quickly,” said Louise Hayes, a supervision attorney at Community Legal Services, which has advocated for Pennsylvania to adopt chip cards.
Help for victims of this kind of fraud has also been limited, leaving churches and food pantries to step in. Stolen benefits were being reimbursed between October 2022 and December 2024, but that ended when Congress did not extend funding.
“Having benefits stolen, with no means to replace them, only adds further strain to already stretched households,” said Natasha Johnson, assistant commissioner of the New Jersey Division of Family Development.
With the federal government no longer replacing stolen benefits, states believe EBT skimming has gone underreported in recent years.
Exact numbers of thefts in New Jersey were not immediately available.
In Pennsylvania, there were at least 5,100 skimming cases in the first five months of 2026, accounting for $2.5 million in stolen benefits, according to the Pennsylvania Office of State Inspector General, which investigates the reports and seizes the skimming devices.
In February 2025, California became the first state to begin replacing the magnetic stripe cards. Oklahoma embarked on a chip card pilot this year and Massachusetts announced in April its own plans for a pilot. This week, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced new chip cards would be distributed in the state in early 2027.
Like other states with plans to adopt EBT chip cards, New York hopes to see instances of skimming radically decline with the overhaul.
Staff writer Gillian McGoldrick contributed to this article.
Kobe Bryant? Of course. Sabrina Carpenter? Obviously. But a fighter pilot born in the early 1900s? Not so much.
The Inquirer recently dug into the 2025 top five most-searched individuals born in Lower Merion or Narberth, with the tiny borough punching above its weight class.
Topping the list is Narberth native Kylie Kelce, who gained traction online after her podcast “Not Gonna Lie” launched in late 2024.
She’s followed by two fellow Narberth natives, one a former Navy fighter pilot and the other a best-selling author. Rounding out the list is an MLB player and the former president of the Cleveland Browns.
In case you missed it, Lower Merion police are investigating a string of home burglaries. They believe thieves are targeting high-value houses that appear to be unoccupied.
A Lower Merion teen got booed during Monday night’s Home Run Derby at Citizen’s Bank Park. The Inquirer’s Alex Coffey explains why — and how the 17-year-old Harriton High School alum sees the viral moment as a badge of honor.
New Kobe Bryant shoe releases appear to be in the works from Nike. The late Lower Merion basketball star’s widow, Vanessa Bryant, recently offered a sneak peek.
A Lower Merion company made the list of the 2026-2027 U.S. News Best Companies to Work For. Bala Cynwyd-based Susquehanna International Group, which is headquartered at 401 City Ave., specializes in quantitative trading and received a high rating for its work-life balance. To determine its list, U.S. News weighed factors such as employee sentiment, evaluating companies with at least 1,000 employees and over $500 million in annual revenue.
🍽️ On our Plate
6abc’s Alicia Vitarelli paid a visit to the recently opened Bryn Mawr outpost of The Buttery to learn how the popular cafe makes Turkish eggs. Check out the segment here.
🎳 Things to Do
🎶 Bryn Mawr Twilight Concerts: There are two shows this weekend. On Friday, get a preview of the upcoming Philadelphia Folk Fest, and on Sunday, hear Trout Fishing in America, an eclectic folk/rock band. ⏰ Friday, July 17, 7 p.m., and Sunday, July 19, 4 p.m. 💵 Free on Friday; $25.88 for adults and $16.56 for kids 12 and under on Sunday 📍 Bryn Mawr Gazebo
🎞️ To Catch a Thief: See a screening of the 1955 Alfred Hitchcock film starring Cary Grant and Grace Kelly. ⏰ Sunday, July 19, 4 p.m. 💵 $11.75-$16.25 📍 Bryn Mawr Film Institute
🎵 Music in the Park: Coca Leaves and Pearls headlines the next concert. ⏰ Wednesday, July 22, 7 p.m. 💵 Free 📍 Narberth Park gazebo
The home has a screened-in porch.Ben Floyd Photography | Courtesy of Kathleen Hartnett/Compass RE
Built in 1926, this four-bedroom Tudor has undergone a number of updates to blend the past and present. The home features a living room with a stone fireplace, a dining room, a kitchen with quartz countertops and stainless steel appliances, and a screened-in porch. It also has bonus living space on the third floor and a deck out back.
By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.
This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirer’s high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com/donate. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org/supporters.
Ikea has opened a small-format store at the Promenade at Granite Run.Peter Morrison
Area residents no longer have to trek to Conshohocken or South Philadelphia to get their Ikea goods. The Swedish furniture brand opened its first Delaware County store last week at the Promenade at Granite Run.
Unlike its neighboring behemoths, this one is a “plan and order point” concept, where customers can meet with design consultants and order goods, or pick up items they purchased online.
In case you missed it, former Wawa president and CEO Richard D. Wood Jr. died last week at the age of 88. Wood was instrumental in growing the beloved, locally rooted convenience chain into one of the largest privately held companies in the country.
Swarthmore council has named a new borough manager, approving former member Scarlett McCahill for the role at its most recent meeting. She will take over for interim borough manager David Unkovic, who has served in the role since the previous manager was terminated earlier this year. In addition, council named Alex Ashcom assistant borough manager.
It’s happening! Hit Delco-set HBO shows Task (which just got six Emmy nods) and Mare of Easttown will finally see their two worlds collide in a crossover. Here’s what we know.
Nether Providence police are reminding residents to lock their car doors at night and not leave valuables unattended after several reported thefts earlier this week.
Delaware County said last week it was continuing to investigate a recent hack into its network and had restored internal services.
Students at Cheyney University will see tuition go up 4.3% after a Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education board of governors vote last week.
Heads up for drivers: PennDot will be doing overnight conduit and utility cable installations Monday through Thursday from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. on both sides of I-476 between the Route 1 and Baltimore Pike interchanges. Expect lane closures and potential traffic stoppages. There will also be a lane closure on Bortondale Road and Orange Street between Old Middletown Road and Baltimore Pike tonight from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. Starting Monday, Aqua will begin water main replacements on Providence Road between West Rose Valley and Chester Roads, and on Leslie Lane.
🍽️ On our Plate
Looking for an espresso martini? Main Line Today recently rounded up spots to sip the cocktail, including Ariano and Brick & Brew, both in Media.
🎳 Things to Do
🎸 Amped Up Concert: Hear Mikeal Anthony Greto perform at this month’s concert. ⏰ Thursday, July 16, 6-8 p.m. 💵 Free 📍 Swarthmore amphitheater
🎶 Rose Tree Summer Festival: The upcoming lineup features performances from the Eric Mintel Quartet tonight, the Lonnie Shields Band tomorrow night, the Upper Darby Shooting Stars Summer Stage on Saturday, and swing band 22 Park Avenue on Saturday. On Wednesday, seven-piece Billy Joel cover group Angry Young Band takes the stage. ⏰ Thursday, July 16-Wednesday, July 22, 7:30 p.m. 💵 Free 📍 Rose Tree Park, Media
🪕 Tie Dye Music Festival: Try your hand at tie dying, listen to live music, and grab a bite to eat from a food truck at this annual festival. ⏰ Saturday, July 18, 4-8 p.m. 💵 Pay as you go 📍 Community Arts Center, Wallingford
⚽ World Cup Final Watch Party: Catch the action on a big screen on Olive Street. ⏰ Sunday, July 19, 3 p.m. 💵 Pay as you go 📍 Olive Street, Media
🍿Inside Out 2: Catch one of two screenings of the popular Disney Pixar film. ⏰ Monday, July 20, and Wednesday, July 22, 5:30 p.m. 💵 $15 📍 The Media Theatre
🗞️ What other Greater Media residents are reading this week:
By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirer’s Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10.
This suburban content is produced with support from the Leslie Miller and Richard Worley Foundation and The Lenfest Institute for Journalism. Editorial content is created independently of the project donors. Gifts to support The Inquirer’s high-impact journalism can be made at inquirer.com/donate. A list of Lenfest Institute donors can be found at lenfestinstitute.org/supporters.
A former Bucks County man who voted twice for President Donald Trump in the 2020 election was sentenced Wednesday to six months of house arrest and three years of probation.
Matthew Laiss was found guilty by a jury earlier this year of casting two ballots in the 2020 election: first by mail in Pennsylvania, where he had once lived in Ottsville, and then again in person in Florida, where he was living at the time.
Laiss, 32, said in court Wednesday that his actions were “stupid” and a mistake. And his lawyer said that Laiss never meant for both votes to actually count — that he had wrongfully assumed election officials would identify he had voted twice and only count one of his ballots.
“In hindsight, it wasn’t good judgment,” Laiss said.
Prosecutors, however, said they did not believe that, in part because they said Laiss misled FBI agents about his actions when he was confronted years later. And Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Dubnoff said Laiss had shown a “striking” lack of remorse for what he did, repeatedly saying it was the result of his age or mental health at the time, as opposed to realizing he had committed a crime.
“Mr. Laiss has not accepted ownership of what he did,” Dubnoff said.
U.S. District Judge Joseph F. Leeson Jr. said Laiss’ crimes were serious and had affected “all citizens of this country.”
But he declined to send Laiss to prison, noting that Laiss had already lost his job as an insurance salesman as a result of the case, and that he would have the felony conviction on his record for the rest of his life.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office charged Laiss last year with crimes including voter fraud and voting more than once in a federal election.
Prosecutors said records showed that Laiss had filled out and returned a mail-in Pennsylvania ballot in October 2020. And less than a week later, they said, he went to a polling place in Florida and voted again.
Laiss later said in court documents that he voted twice for Trump. And as his case progressed toward trial, he sought to claim that his actions were covered by pardons Trump extended to people who tried to help him overturn the results of the 2020 election, which Joe Biden won.
Prosecutors announced Laiss’ case alongside the indictment of a Philadelphia woman, Miya Pack, who was separately charged with voting twice in the 2020 election. She pleaded guilty last month and is awaiting sentencing.
Still, attorneys said cases involving people casting multiple ballots were relatively rare in eastern Pennsylvania. Laiss’ lawyer said the only other comparable case in the region that unfolded in recent years was that of Philip C. Pulley, a Philadelphia landlord who voted in the city, Montgomery County, and Florida in 2020 and 2022. He was also sentenced to probation.
Trump has nonetheless made frequently questionable or false statements about the prevalence of voter fraud, particularly in instances where his opponents or Democrats have won. Election officials and experts generally agree that voter fraud has not historically occurred at widespread rates or in ways that could lead to incorrect outcomes.
Wilbert Rosado-Ruiz’s fate was placed Wednesday in the hands of a Delaware County judge, who, in the coming week, will determine whether the shooting he committed where he worked, killing two people and wounding three others, was justified or an act of murder.
At the close of his bench trial on charges of murder, attempted murder, and related crimes for the May 2024 shooting, Rosado-Ruiz, 63, testified that he felt his life was in danger and acted in self-defense. A group of his coworkers at Delaware County Linen had ganged up on him, he said, cornering him in the industrial laundry facility and threatening to kill him and his family.
“I’m a person who would never try to hurt anyone,” he said. “Anyone who is inoffensive to me, anyone who would not try to hurt me, I would not try to hurt.
“Now, if someone does try to make a move on my life, yes, I am someone who is armed, and I would defend myself.”
Wilbert Rosado Ruiz, seen here in June 2024, told a judge that his coworkers had threatened to kill him, and that he shot at them in self-defense.Tyger Williams / Staff Photographer
Rosado-Ruiz’s attorney, Kevin O’Neill, urged Judge Kevin Kelly to acquit his client of all charges, saying he had reacted to what he believed to be credible threats to his life and the lives of his loved ones.
Assistant District Attorney Sophia Polites balked at that explanation during her closing arguments Wednesday. None of the victims were armed, and surveillance footage from the Chester business showed them running for their lives as Rosado-Ruiz chased them from room to room.
Rosado-Ruiz, she said, shot at his fleeing coworkers because he wanted to, not because he needed to. He believed, she said, they had disrespected him.
“This was not a decision made out of fear. This was about his ego,” Polites said. “One by one, the people he perceived to have disrespected him, they became his targets.”
Brothers Leovanny Peña Peña, 30, and Giguenson Peña Peña, 26, were killed by Rosado-Ruiz after he clocked in for his early-morning shift.
Testimony during the trial showed that Rosado-Ruiz had gotten into an altercation with another coworker, Nilamarie Valdivieso, while on a video call with his wife and daughter. Valdivieso testified that she approached Rosado-Ruiz to ask him why he was angry, and he responded explosively, screaming that he was “tired of all these people,” before pulling out his 9mm handgun and shooting Valdivieso in the shoulder.
But Rosado-Ruiz offered a different version of that initial encounter. He testified that Valdivieso had hurled insults at him before threatening to cut his head off.
The Peña Peña brothers, as well as other coworkers, joined Valdivieso, Rosado-Ruiz said, and formed a crowd to block him from leaving the room. He said he saw that the two brothers were carrying knives, and moved toward him in a threatening manner.
That is when, he said, he opened fire.
“I waited, and I really thought nothing would happen,” he said. “I didn’t want to hurt anyone.”
Rosado-Ruiz remained on the video call with his family throughout the initial encounter and eventual shooting, but his wife and daughter testified that they could not see or hear the shooting as it took place.
But Polites, the prosecutor, said evidence in the case, including surveillance footage of the encounter, showed that the people around Rosado-Ruiz scattered at the sight of his gun.
After shooting Valdivieso, he shot Leovanny Peña Peña three times before chasing the other people who fled. Rosado-Ruiz caught up with Giguenson Peña Peña after he had exited the building, and shot him as he ran away from him, according to prosecutors.
None of the victims were armed, despite what Rosado-Ruiz said he saw, Polites said.
Judge Kelly said he will deliver his verdict on July 22.
The Upper Merion Planning Commission is scheduled to discuss three of Brian O’Neill’s five proposed data centers at its next meeting on Wednesday, July 22, according to Township Manager Anthony Hamaday and a meeting agenda posted online.
After receiving an overview of the project at an initial planning commission meeting in May, the township has “done an official review, and we have forwarded our comments to the applicant,” Hamaday said. The plans “have been revised and sent back.”
Next, Hamaday said, the planning commission will dive into the nitty-gritty, scrutinizing whether the project complies with township code.
Next Wednesday, they will review the proposed 2-million-square-foot data center at the Renaissance Boulevard office park; the proposed 370,000-square-foot data center at the current site of a daycare at 3200 Horizon Dr.; and the proposed 188,000-square-foot data center at an office and lab building on a remediated Superfund site at 2100 Renaissance Blvd.
The other two proposed data centers are set to be reviewed at a meeting on Aug. 12, Hamaday said Tuesday.
At the May meeting, O’Neill, whose MLP Ventures is behind the proposal, called it “an opportunity to change the world for the better” through AI-powered biotech that would complement his existing life-sciences complex, Discovery Labs. He said most of the centers would be leased to tenants, but has not specified which ones.
Anti-data center lawn signs seen in King of Prussia in late May.Alejandro A. Alvarez / Staff Photographer
Many area residents have rallied against the centers, with some displaying bright orange lawn signs that read: “Five data centers, 100 feet from here. Absolutely not!” Opponents have cited concerns about the potential for noise, light, and other pollution, as well as the general disruption to their daily lives.
Hundreds of people packed the May meeting. Hamaday said the forthcoming meetings would be moved to the Upper Merion Area Middle School to accommodate expected crowds. They will also be broadcast live, potentially on the local TV channel, he said, and streamed on Zoom.
Upper Merion Township isn’t the only place where O’Neill has set his sights.
Across the Schuylkill, on the outskirts of Conshohocken, the developer wants to build another 2 million-square-foot AI data center at the site of the former Cleveland-Cliffs steel mill. He has said the center would be operated by a tenant related to the life sciences.
The closed Cleveland-Cliffs steel Mill, pictured in June, where Brian O’Neill wants to build a 2-million-square-foot AI data center.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
He recently resubmitted a plan to Plymouth Township, and a procedural zoning hearing board meeting was held last month.
The next meeting about the Conshohocken-area project is scheduled for Aug. 6 at Colonial Middle School and via livestream on the township’s YouTube channel.
Both the Conshohocken-area and King of Prussia plans would require multiple recommendations and approvals before construction could begin.
